Two flavors of classic British tones from a boutique icon.

For over 20 years, Dave Friedman has been a gear guru to the stars, designing rigs and modifying amplifiers for the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Cantrell, Guns N’ Roses and more. When Friedman began building his own amps, he gleaned inspiration from high-powered British tone machines of yesteryear that have become the defacto sound of rock.

Developed by Brainworx, the Friedman Amps Plug-In Collection for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces features two stunning emulations of Friedman’s high-end, boutique masterpieces, each with its own take on god-like British tube tone — the BE-100 for the ultimate “hot-rodded” Plexi-style amp, and the Dirty Shirley DS-40 for dynamic clean tones and powerful, punchy crunch.

Now You Can:

Track through either amp in real time, with near-zero latency, on your Apollo audio interface via Realtime UAD Processing

Enjoy quick, precise guitar tuning with the included bx_tuner plug-in

Take A Listen

The Friedman BE‑100 — Modding a Classic

The Friedman BE-100 amplifier is the result of years of experience Friedman amassed performing tone mods on his various clients’ 1959 Marshall plexis. The BE-100 amplifier plug-in for UAD-2 and Apollo interfaces expertly captures Friedman’s jaw-dropping evolution to the classic plexi DNA — but with smoother treble, tighter bass response, and increased gain capabilities for more sonic versatility.

Old School Cool — The Friedman Dirty Shirley DS-40

Taking its cue from Marshall’s earliest production amp — the venerable JTM45 — Friedman’s dual 6L6-based Dirty Shirley DS-40 amplifier is renowned for its rich, bell-like clean tones, ultra-dynamic cleanish tones, and ability to conjure more aggressive textures while retaining musical touch sensitivity. The Friedman DS-40 Amplifier plug-in for UAD-2 and Apollo interfaces perfectly captures the DS-40’s regal raunch as well its clean tone complexities, making it a slam dunk classic rock amp that can also deliver blues, jazz, and country tones with ease.

Over 60 High-End Recording Chains

Both the Friedman BE-100 and DS-40 plug-ins offer an onboard FX Rack feature that gives you potent tone sculpting ability — adjust lows and highs with Tight and Smooth filters, create crushing rhythm tracks by artfully tweaking the onboard noise gate, or enhance solos with a chewy, host-syncable, lo-fi delay. You can also use the FX Rack’s Recording Chains feature to audition your tones through 66 different signal paths, featuring various speaker cabinets, high-end mics, preamps, and EQ emulations.

Brainworx bx_tuner

With the Friedman Amplifier Plug-In Collection, you’ll also receive Brainworx’s bx_tuner plug-in — an intuitive, easy-to-use, chromatic tuner that can be inserted into a channel or bus to keep your tracks sounding their best. The bx_tuner offers spot-on chromatic tuning with a couple of clever additions. Dim mode offers tuning with sound, albeit at a reduced level, while a Ballistics feature lets you customize the action of the tuning LEDs and how fast they track pitch changes. Everyone needs to be in tune. The bx_tuner allows you to do it elegantly and accurately within your workstation.

“A lot of amp plug-ins seem to smear the image slightly and not be as present in the final mix. The Friedman Amplifier plug-ins sound fat and keeps its presence.”– Jeff Balding(Taylor Swift, LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill)

Customer Reviews

k. dcosta

December 13, 2015

Look forward to more Guitar plugins UA!

Very nice!
After 20 years of mic'ing up amps I'm using more often UA guitar plugins now.

Key Features

Faithful emulation of two modern boutique amps inspired by classic British tube amps, designed by legendary amp guru David Friedman
FX Rack features lo-fi delay, noise gate, and filter controls
66 impulse responses for each amp, with multiple speaker cabinets recorded in a state of the art room with stellar gear
Feels like a real amp when played through Apollo’s Realtime UAD Processing
Re-Amp less than perfect DI guitar tracks, previously recorded with other guitar-amp simulations
Enjoy quick, precise guitar tuning with the included bx_tuner plug-in
Requires UAD-2 DSP Accelerator Card or Apollo Interface, available from authorized dealers worldwide

Customer Reviews

Friedman Amplifiers Collection

Overall Rating

k. dcosta

December 13, 2015

Look forward to more Guitar plugins UA!

Very nice!

After 20 years of mic'ing up amps I'm using more often UA guitar plugins now.

C. Bower

December 13, 2015

Great for tracking!

This is a nice, natural sounding mod to track with if you've got an Apollo. Nice feel and air, much like playing a real amp with a mic'd cab. I would definitely recommend for those guitar players who are looking to re-amp but insist on tracking with a natural feel, but you will need to have an Apollo to make this work.

H. Hansson

December 1, 2015

A bargain at $4.00! ;)

Just bought this bundle for 4 Euros!!! Had a voucher previously at €25 since taking a survey. Today I got a mail saying UA missed me, and that they had given me another €50 voucher. Checking my account, I actually had two! So, with the Black Friday campaign still going it was going for €129. So, €125 in vouchers made me pay €4! Wow! Thanks UA! =)

And the plugins then... I think they are really versatile. Have been looking into buying these for a long time, but now I'm glad I didn't until know! Just check out the demos and hear for yourself. Responsive, gritty, powerful! Nice amp sims!

B. King

November 2, 2015

True to the Firedman Tonal Vision!!

Very pumped that these are on the UAD platform. Fortunate to own a BE100 and it is just so organic and musical. I also have a Kemper so I can say for a modeling/profiler environment these are superb. The day I noticed these were released I happen to by tracking my BE100 DI through a Suhr reactive load box and got several A/B for comparisons. Must admit it was very accurate and responsive in most every aspect. The built in delay and mic/cab presets are very cool and allow to quickly color the sound to your desired application. These are very good value and an awesome portal to enjoy Dave Frideman's incredible work. No risk in picking these up.

UAD User

August 10, 2015

THIS is what love sounds like :)

SO, a few months back I found myself standing in front of the Friedman DS head and cab. Wondering, why all the hype over this little thing? As I pondered this great mystery, I decided to plug in and see for myself. It was effortless to pull great tone from this thing, but then I saw the price tag. Ouch! $2,700 just for the head. About a month ago I bought an Apollo Twin and in doing so, am allowed to demo all the UA plug ins for free, in the comfort of my own home. Sweet deal. So of course I went right for the Friedman bundle. Having played both of these amps, I can say that there was NO disappointment with this bundle. You can go to YouTube & search MarkThomasMusic to see some vids I did. The same tone for $249. It's a no-brainer

M. Ballenger

August 3, 2015

Very convincing

This is a spectacular bundle. The BE-100 nails the brown sound, but it can also dial in some great crunch and classic tones. The Dirty Shirley is my preferred option of the two for clean to crunch. It's very warm and full. Really impressed with the BX guitar amp sims. I also own the Chandler. I hope to demo the ENGL retro soon.

a. kamal

August 2, 2015

very very usable..

I am a guitar player and my studio is all set up and wired with vintage amps,miss etc.... For recording I use a multi amp set up with a 57 Tweed Vibro Champ , a 65 BF Super Reverb AND my trusted 1975 100 w Marshall,Boogie King Snake, Dumble ODS or Diezel VH4. I pretty much emulated the EL 34/KT 77 Sounds with the Friedman. In an a/b comparison i preferred the plug to the genuine head which I had mic´d with a Sennheiser MD 421 N and a 4 x 12" Vintage Marshall Cab using Celestial G 25 H. The mic´d sound was pretty good but the plug in sound seemed to "breathe" more,i.e. better transients,silkier high end...Pretty amazing This plug in...

UAD User

July 25, 2015

PRICELESS

A few weeks ago now, I purchased an Apollo Twin Solo. My 1st UA product. Based on that purchase, I was able to get a 14 day demo on other various UAD-2 plug ins. What I REALLY love is that I can do this in MY home, at MY pace and not in some store with some guy wanking on Smoke On The Water. I am SoOo impressed with this plug in, I bought it. HAD to have it. Sounds STELLAR just noodling around thru monitors and/or of course sounds great recording. I have played both "real" versions of the BE and the DS and volume aside, this is a dead on recreation of the sound you would find. You can check it out on YouTube under markthomasmusic. Apollo Twin, Thunderbolt, zero latency that I can detect. FEELS like I'm plugged into the real deal!

T. Stephens

July 13, 2015

Brainworx got it bang on with the Friedman Amp collection!

I have been using Friedman amplification for the past few years. They are superb in the studio as well as live. I currently own a BE100 and have been using it in the studio and isolated environments constantly over the course of 2 and a bit years, even when it was hard to get your hands on a modded Dave Friedman amp i had to mustle one up from somewhere as they really are so musical and powerful in the studio!

So at the beginning of the year a friend posted a video demo of this Universal Audio / Brainworx plugin of the Friedman BE100 and i was instantly interested in trying it out. All I can say is that they really must have worked hard on the design and development of the plugin with Dave as it is extremely good and spot on! Recommended!

A. Marshall

July 1, 2015

Killer Amp Sims

WOW! The best Ive used, lots of killer tones here, I particularly love the BE-100, yes a high gain monster but it also a killer clean channel as well. The input gain and the noise gate are handy, so much in here it will keep me busy for ages.

Also worth mentioning, you can have 4 settings per preset, so you can have slight variations or completely different tones within the one preset.

I upgraded to an Apollo quad from an Eleven rack and they are worlds apart, the Apollo and UA plug ins are the ultimate set up for guitarists! My plug in chain is legendary!

Rock on!

M. Yamaoka

June 20, 2015

Great sound

It is the best rock amp modeling.

D. Lavyne

June 12, 2015

Simply The Best

Utterly amazing! Both the BE-100 and the DS-40 have something incredible to offer, but will require you to really open your mind and spend some time to find the right cab model and learn how the gain structure and tone controls of these amps affect your sound. It took me weeks (literally) to get this right but now that I have them dialed in they are simply the best Amp plugins I have ever heard. When you power them up, immediately mute the stock preset and start from scratch on creating your own sounds. While these amp have the most to offer I also feel they have some of the worst presets I've ever heard...so grab your favorite guitar, set everything to the middle and start auditioning cabs. Spend some time and you'll see (and hear)!

S. Maxwell

May 3, 2015

Best of the amp sims

I gave this a test run along with the other UAD amp sims, of all of them this seems the most versatile.

The DS-40 is particularly good for clean and crunch, the BE-100 a complete gain monster...

It's also good to see that you can turn of the speaker simulation ,I tried this running in to the speaker sims on Ocean Way , sounded great .. Damn that's two I will have to purchase now !

S. McClure

April 18, 2015

Friedman BE100 Plug

Absolutely amazing!! First Guitar plug in I've used or heard that really sounds like a real amp cranked up. Definitely get the "brown sound" with it. Makes me want to sit and play guitar. I thought that Amp Rig was pretty good until I heard this. It's incredibly dynamic and touch responsive. Just love this plug to death!!

S. McLendon

April 10, 2015

Love these amp sounds!

I own numerous guitar plugins and rigs being that I'm a guitarist!
This AMP is a 5 STAR all the way! My new go to!
With tweaking, you can get what you are looking for IMHO!

K. Dietz

April 6, 2015

Excellent tone!

I have heard and recorded the actual Friedman BE-100, incredible amp. This plugin captures the vibe incredibly well! Lots of subtleties. Best amp sim I've ever heard, no doubt. I'm having a blast playing through it! I love the multitude of different cabinet & microphone combinations as well. I can't wait to have my friend over to play through it and get his impression (a phenomenal player and Friedman endorsed artist).

M. Smith

April 3, 2015

Me Likey!

I like these a lot, the best hot rodded Marshall type sound I've gotten out of a plugin. Would LOVE to hear an amp sim dedicated to clean Fender sounds (not just the BF Deluxe or BF Twin).

S. McNulty

March 30, 2015

Friedman Amps

I have the Softube amps and both ENGL amps. I usually use the Fender in Amp Room for dirt and the ENGL 646 for clean tones. These Friedmans are great. I am able to get really nice clean and dirt tones from them. It took me a while to get the hang of them, but now that I understand how to gain stage to get what I want; they are really great.

M. Julien

March 28, 2015

Game changer

I hated guitar simulation plugins before trying this collection. Simply beautiful. Very nice dynamic and beautiful saturation and sustain.
Must have.